Gov’t raids Malabon facility making fake cigarette labels, stamps

THE GOVERNMENT has raided a facility in Malabon that produces fake labels and stamps, according to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III on Thursday. “The raid at the Malabon printing facility is positive. Not only does the site produce fake labels, it also prints fake stamps,” Mr. Dominguez said in a mobile message to reporters. Mr. Dominguez added that according to the operator, the machine is capable of producing 3,500 pieces of stamps per hour. “At P35 per stamp, that’s P122,500 in lost revenue per hour. If the machine operates eight hours per day, five days a week, 50 weeks a year, it can produce P245 million a year of fake tax stamps,” he said. The government has been cracking down on fake tax stamps and contraband products, which are considered to be sources of revenue losses for the government. In May, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) penalized a Tacloban-based businessman P212 million criminal and tax evasion charges due to alleged possession of cigarettes with fake excise stamps. In April, a Pangasinan-based alleged manufacturer of tax stamps was slapped with criminal and tax evasion charges worth P3.4 billion, after he was caught with seven reams of fake cigarettes and fake stamps. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio